Honestly, I haven’t been this excited about a new restaurant opening in a very long time.
CHARCUT Roast House, which has been in the works for in the neighbourhood of 3 years now, is finally about to open. Like, tomorrow. John invited me down for a sneak peek on Friday night, and I arrived to find his mom and a dozen or so others (and a few of their moms) hard at work cleaning, organizing, installing and yes – even starting the prepping in anticipation of Monday’s opening.
Yes, it’s a carnivore’s Disneyland. But there’s a lot on the menu for non-meat-eaters too. I already know what I’m going to have first: Romaine and Crispy Chicken Skin with Buttermilk Dressing.
(Love the hand-written note: because you can’t have any salad without meat.)
I could easily end there, with a side of Raclette (!) and house-made pickles. (The Raclette comes with a little cast-iron pan of brioche knots with garlic butter, served pull-apart style.) But if you move over to the left you’ll notice BONE MARROW GRATIN. Just roll that around for awhile – bone marrow gratin. Further down, Crispy Fois Gras Croquettes. Duck Fat Poutine. House-made sausages and cured meats. I’m going to need bigger pants.
There are wonderful people at the helm here – a lot of very big hearts. The menu will change daily as they play in the kitchen. You have the option of your own table, a seat at a long communal table (a thick slab of wood that came all the way from San Francisco) or to saddle up to the bar at the kitchen to watch them cook as you eat. Everything is made from scratch. And the prices – they’re about on par with Earl’s. Cheap, as John puts it – he and Connie are the chefs at CHARCUT, and they just want to feed people – to let them share the experience of wonderful, real food. It seems to me they’re going to succeed. (Four friends – two couples – have paired up to make it happen – the founders of CHARCUT are Chef Connie DeSousa, Chef John Jackson, Service Director Jean Francois Beeroo and Carrie Jackson.)
Everything in the restaurant has a story, from the reclaimed wood to the communal table and cow painting – I don’t want to spill all the beans yet though – I’m doing a story for the FFWD Bar & Restaurant Guide, so have to leave some stuff to the imagination.
The calm (and clean) before the storm:
Copper bowls make great bathroom sinks:
Come to think of it, I didn’t even get a photo of the enormous custom-made iron chandeliers that incorporate glass mason jars – they hadn’t been hung yet, and still sat on the cement floor by the entrance. I imagine it’s been a mighty busy weekend around there.
CHARCUT opens tomorrow. I’ll pay them another visit at my earliest capability and report back. As a personal favour to you guys. In the name of research, of course.
February 21 2010 | eating out | 12 Comments »
Sorry – I fell asleep at close to 1am trying to post this. When you read what I had for dinner you’ll understand why.
We’re in a dinner club. How cool is that? The last dinner, which we missed, was 80s themed, complete with dress code, old photos and mix tapes. Tonight the theme was cheesy (as in corny, not Whiz-based) Kraft recipes, preferably vintage, and none of us had trouble coming up with disgusting courses of processed food-like product (the meal would have come straight from Michael Pollan’s worst nightmares), all of which was served on a long cheese-slice-covered table.
We started with Harvey Wallbangers topped with a blop of marshmallow Fluff:
Then – Shake n’ Bake chicken strips with Velveeta fondue, spiked with blue cheese dressing and Bac-Os. (SALT!Y!)
And then Kraft dinner surprise (the surprise being bits of broccoli D’s mom used to sneak in between layers of “cheese” and shells):
And a salad – a 7-Up salad, to be precise (Jell-O, 7-Up, marshmallows, Miracle Whip, Cool Whip, pineapple chunks):
Jaws was projected onto the ceiling above the table (some hadn’t even seen it):
And later, Fantasy Island.
A and I were on dessert duty. She made a layered frozen orange sherbet thing from the cover of the Kraft cooking magazine:
And I made Candy Bar Pie and a Chips Ahoy! Tiramisu (of sorts) in which you fold together instant chocolate pudding and Cool Whip (we bought the generic kind, because who cares? On the ingredient list: beta carotene, for colour. Colour? Have you seen anything whiter than frozen whipped topping?) and then layer it in a pan with rows of chocolate chip cookies. When you refrigerate it overnight the cookies soften and you can cut it into soft squares. Disgusting, but I liked the concept, and might try a shortbread – fruit fool (saucy fruit and cream) combo.
Chips Ahoy! Tiramisu (of sorts)
adapted from the Kraft foods website (they called for 3/4 cup milk, which made a thick paste and wouldn’t have worked, I think)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (8 ounce) tub Cool Whip, thawed
27 Chips Ahoy! Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping.
Arrange 9 of the cookies in single layer on bottom of 8″ square dish; top with 1/3 of the pudding mixture. Repeat layers 2 times; cover.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Yield: 9 servings
Candy Bar Pie
from the Kraft foods website
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tub (12 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 (2.07 oz.) chocolate-coated caramel-peanut nougat bar, finely chopped (I used Rolos)
1-1/2 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 Oreo pie crust (I made my own, with pulsed Oreos and a drizzle of canola oil – every bit helps!)
Mix cream cheese and 1 Tbsp. milk in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Add 1 1/2 cups of the whipped topping and chopped candy bar; stir gently.
Pour 1 1/2 cups cold milk into another large bowl. Add pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Gently stir in 2 cups of the remaining whipped topping. Spread half of the pudding mixture onto bottom of crust; cover with cream cheese mixture. Top with remaining pudding mixture.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Garnish with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.
If I’m to be perfectly honest here, all of this is the stuff of my childhood dreams (as in – this was the stuff we weren’t allowed to have). A few decades later, I think it’s safe to say we all felt like crap after dinner, and left to head home with pianos tied to our asses. This morning I think a virtuous breakfast is in order, and a nice long walk. Sorry, gut.
February 21 2010 | dessert | 23 Comments »
